president obama is set to land in the bay area within the hour. we'll toll you where he's headed and give you a look at preps and why this visit will make mist history why people protesting the one-year anniversary of the bp oil spill put these nozzles around gas stations. and new at noon, a major drug bust in the bay area late this morning. what police were doing when they found this scene by accident, next at noon.

>> good afternoon. we begin with president obama due to touch down at san francisco international airport in one hour. these are live pictures right now of sfo, the tarmac. quite a few people are waiting, taking pictures and pointing to where air force one will land. it won't happen for about an hour. as usual, the president has a busy agenda while he is here in the bay area. ktvu's claudia wong joins us from one of the stops and there's activity there. >> reporter: it's getting busier at the auditorium, tori. one of the president's four bay area stops. the streets have been cleared and we have seen crews out here. they have been putting up signs and getting barricades ready for everyone to walk in when folks arrive here. the president is in the air. we watched him leave andrews air force base this morning. he will go to facebook in palo alto and a crew watching protestors -- on the a halfful

now -- we expect protestor at every stop, focused on everything from budgets to nuclear policy to libya. >> the corporations are basically buying him. he is not an independent individual. >> reporter: we have a crew inside facebook because that's where this online town hall meet willing take place in less than two hours. it's the first time a president has visited facebook and the first time a president used social media like this to reach out. >> i think the president wants to show he's well-connected, he is listening to people, interacting with people. of course some of that is really a show but i think it's a show worth having. >> yeah. i think it's great. he's keeping up with technology, i suppose. he's trying to get to as many people as he can. i think that's good. >> reporter: at last check, almost 37,000 people had rsvped yes to the town hall, which goes live at 1:45. when he is finished, he will go to a private dinner in san

francisco. a seat to that costs more than $35,000. then he has to the masonic for an 8:00 event. tickets range from $25 to $2,500. before he leaves tomorrow, one last breakfast where people will also pay more than $35,000 a plate. live in san francisco, claudine wong, challenge 2 news. >> thank you. we will keep tracking the president's visit at ktvu.com. you will also find a link to learn how to post a question for the president and here on channel 2, we'll bring you live coverage of the arrival. he will touch down at 1:00 at sfo. oakland police issued an urgent crime alert for people live in the lake merit area, following an attempted assault on third avenue yesterday afternoon. investigators say a man followed a woman from a neighborhood store, all the way into the gates of her home. he then ordered her to take off her clothes but then ran away. police only have a vague description of the attacker. it's still not clear if this incident is tied to a series of

sexual assaults near lake merit earlier this year. and there is another warning for people in the lake merit area. police say there were six separate street robberies during one two-hour period yesterday afternoon. investigators believe the same person is responsible for all the robberies. he's described as an african- american man, 25 to 30 years old, 5'9," weighing between 180 and 200-pound. he was spotted driving a light blue ford taurus. it was one year ago today that an oil rig exploded off the gulf of mexico, killing 11 workers and creating the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history. two days after the deep water horizon rig burst into flames, it sunk to the ocean floor with the bodies of those killed. oil continued to gush from the broken well head for almost three months. the recovery has been mixed with beaches looking clean but oil still turning up in marshy

areas and fishermen are still struggling to make a living. >> we're -- i'm a crab fisherman. i got a commercial license and can't even catch crab. there's none out here. where they went, we don't know. >> some of the victims said they received little compensation from rig operator bp. it set aside $20 billion for victims as part of a deal with government. so far, about $4 billion has been distributed. and it was no coincidence that vandals chose the first anniversary of the bp explosion to attack gas stations. craig joins us to explain what happened that was a real kin -- inconvenience. >> reporter: this morning, people took chains and locks like the one we found here at fourth and bryant and changed together gas nozzles at three gas stations before 6:00 a.m.

this morning. look at this video tape, surveillance tape, from the shell at fourth and bryant. three hooded and masked men walk into the bays, casually tossing out flyers. then two got to work on gas nozzles. at first, they took them off the pumps and then threaded a chain through the pump hollisters. the same thing took place at three different shell gas stations in san francisco. the first and third and brennan around 5:15, then fourth and bryant and finally at california and steiner. nobody was hurt and nobody went without gas. police were caused, used cutters to cut the chains and confiscated some of the flyers. rising tide is the group behind the protests in conjunction with the year-anniversary of the bp spill. we spoke to a represent wife said the group put out a call for a day of protest but said some people believe they hit the wrong message. >> we called a day of action for today but some people sort of -- took it in their own direction so a direction we

definitely don't support. >> reporter: there's one more oddity about what happened this morning. nobody is quite sure why protestors targeted shell gas stations in order to protest a bp oil spill. rising tide is taking credit for organizing an event at 6:00 p.m. it's planned to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the spill. live in from san francisco, kraig debro, channel 2 news. new at noon, oakland police this morning busted a large marijuana growing operation, which was discovered by accident. officers responding to a commercial burglar alarm around 4:00 a.m. found the elaborate growing operation with lights and ventilation system. 2300 plants were seized. officers searched the building but the burglar got away and are now looking for the building's owner. >> we're still looking for the individuals who own or run this place. hopefully we'll be able to catch them in the next couple of days. >> the street value of the

plants is not yet known. san jose will drastically reduce the number of medical marijuana dispensaries. the city council vote to limit the number of pot collectives to ten. right now there are over 100 in the city. san jose's police chief had this reaction. >> we will make it work. we have some questions about the legality and clearly it's against federal law. >> under the regulation, the collectives will be limit to commercial and industrial areas and must grow their marijuana on-site. applicants must pass a criminal background check and pay fees. the ten clubs could be chose chosen by the end of the year. support for legalizing marijuana use appears to be growing but so far no poll has found the majority of people in favor. according to a new cnn poll, 41% of american adults favor legalizing marijuana and 56% were against it. a scandal has cost one bay

area police officer his job. new rule will force airlines to treat you better. today looks like rain, but it will? our meteorologist has the answer ahead with the forecast models. a daring rescue in the waters off of san quentin prison but it's who behind the rescue that has people talking.

firefighters in san francisco battled a fire at a residential hotel. the one-alarm fire was reported at 6:49 a.m. at sixth and minnow in the south soft market neighborhood. an alert police officer first spotted the flames and immediately contacted the fire department. the flames were contained about a half hour after the fire was reported and there are no reports of any injuries. we're learning new details about computer problems during a san francisco fire that left 48 people homeless. a review of the january 1 fire showed that the division of emergency services main computer lost its internet connect connection during the blaze and workers could not start the backup system because no one knew the password. officials say the computer crash did not slow down responders but mayor ed lee is ordering a full report of the incident. a man who was pull from the

bay earlier this morning has died and authorities believe alcohol was a factor. the man and female passenger were on a boat that sank on the shoreline near san quentin state prison. tara moriarty explains how a guard and inmate played critical role in the rescue effort. >> reporter: it was an alert guard in a lookout tower that noticed a man and woman strand in chilly bay waters near the prison. >> as the officer was at his post tonight, he heard something emanating from the water and looked down and saw two individuals out in the water and they were definitely in distress. >> reporter: around 1:15 a.m., the guard called for help and that's when inmates here at san quentin prison sprang into action. they're part of a fire department and jumped into the water to help try to save the couple. when firefighters arrived just minutes later, inmates were administering cpr to the man, who had gone into cardiac arrest. >> the second victim was still

down on the shore. we had a rope rescue. >> reporter: the pair left the dock around 10:00 last night and ran into mechanical trouble. >> the boat capsized somewhere in the bay and from what we have been told, they actually were out in the water for about an hour to an hour and a half and the current led them to our shoreline. >> reporter: the man was not wearing a lifejacket but the woman was. she was treated for hypothermia in a hospital and released. officials believe alcohol was involve in the accident. now, since the shoreline is restricted, the boating accident was considered a breach of security but they did an immediate head count at the prison as is standard procedure and determined no one had escaped. tara moriarty, channel 2 news. we have breaking news to report out of oakland where a san francisco police motorcycle officer has been injured in an accident. news chopper 2 took these pictures a few minutes ago over the scene of the crash. the highway patrol said some time in the past hour or so,

the motorcycle officer rode westbound through the tunnel and then crashed on highway 24 west of the tunnel. emergency crews are on the scene and there is no word yet on the extent of the officer's injury, nor on what actually caused the crash. traffic has been tied up in both directions on highway 24. two richmond police officers are being investigated and one has already been fired. officers danny harris and ray thomas are accused of hiring young volunteers from the department for their private security firm and buying guns for them. the officers are also link to a dui scam, reportedly set up to have two of their recruits arrested for reporting the officers to the department's internal affairs division. a former church youth group leader arrested on child molestation charges will make a court appearance this

afternoon. livermore police arrested 35- year-old carlo estigo last friday after the victim's mother contacted police. the victim told her mother that estigo molested her over the last year. they knew each other through their church and are checking for other victims. local media reports identify the church as the castro valley church of nazarene. a grand jury indicted a former rutgers university student who used a web cam to spy on his male roommate, having an intimate with a man. tyler clemente later committed suicide off a bridge. the man was charge with bias intimidation insight of privacy, among other charges. it's a big win for airline passenger rights. the transportation department is announcing new airline rules that expand tarmac delay limits to international flights. it requires all disclosure all of fees and an increase in

compensation for bumped passengers. passenger rights groups call the new rules miracle but one advocate who has been fighting for the changes for years say they don't go far enough for passengers stuck on plane that are too hot and stuffy. >> the chief complaint we get, even now for shorter tarmac times, people are sweating and not being given water for the first couple of hours on the tarmac and their heart starts to palpitate. >> airlines must provide food, water, working toilets, and medical care after two hours. the new rules expand the three- hour tarmac limit for domestic flight. the international limit is four hours and the airlines have four months to comply to the new rules. the government is scrapping the color-coded terror alert system. homeland security secretary napolitano announced old system will be replaced next week.

the new national terrorism advisory system will issue alerts including a clear statement of a threat or elevated threat. napolitano said it will provide clear language about the threat. critics said the old color codes did little to inform the public. another powerful storm front barreled through the midwest, creating several tornados. one storm chaser caught a funnel cloud forming near the town of carlinville, illinois, and continue to follow it. nobody was hurt by that tornado or the three reported in missouri around the same time. quite a few showers in place and sprinkles through parts of the region. here's the live camera look outside where we have mostly cloudy skies and temperature in the 50s. right now on live stormtracker 2, not a lot to show you but reports of a few sprinkles across parts of the bay area so for today, mostly cloudy skies, showers will continue to

develop, especially into the evening hours. tomorrow, some morning showers, a sun/cloud mix and the weekend, more cloud cover and we could be talking about some more rain chances as we head into your weekend. current numbers are updated to show you 50 and lower 60s -- fairfield, 62 degrees. san jose, 63. san francisco, still in the 50s at 59 and centerfield, around 57. here's the setup on the satellite. we had the clouds this morning, moving to the south and east. we have a disturbance to our north and west off cape mendoncino and will approach us in the evening hours. mostly cloudy skies, a few sprinkles -- nothing too major. as we take this into the evening hours, here's the approach of the next cold front so with that, more clouds, showers developing. the heaviest rainfall will probably be in the category of moderate rainfall, that moves in late tonight into early tomorrow morning. being picked up nicely with the forecast model at 8:00 tonight, showing you some cloud cover out there once again, between

now and 8:00, a few pop-up showers across parts of the region and then we'll take you towards the midnight hour and still rainfall picking up around the north bay and rain showers heading to the south, gradually moving south by 4:00 and 5:00 so early tomorrow morning, we will have wet roadways to start the commute. the first thing tomorrow morning and thursday but then the rest of the day should be dry as we take into the afternoon hours with skies partly cloudy. at 4:00, chance of a shower upper 50s to upper 60s. and by 7:00, spotty shower" 55 to around 60. 10:00, showers likely, increasing in coverage and readings back down into the 50s. here's a look at the forecast highs this afternoon. most area in the 60s, except coast side, only in the upper 50s for pacifica. san jose, around 67. livermore around 64 degrees. here's a look ahead at the five- day forecast and once again, some lingering showers into your thursday morning. friday should be dry with the sun/cloud mix but we're tracking another system, the

rain machine keeps going across the bay area. chance of some rain into saturday, especially for the morning hours and tori, easter sunday, there's a slight chance of a sprinkle mostly for the morning hours but the bulk of the rainfall will be on saturday so watch out for that. >> thank you, mark. a new study is sounding an alarm about toxic mercury in pacific ocean fish and sea birds. u.c. berkeley researchers studied the feathers of the birds that eat the fish and found mercury levels have risen dramatically over the last 120 years. there are big jumps that correspond to industrial growth in the u.s. and asia and that higher levels of mercury in seafood could pose a health threat to humans, especially pregnant and nursing mothers and young children. the obama administration is facing a lawsuit over sea turtles. conservation groups are accusing the administration of ignoring a deadline to protect a large section of the western coast from southern california up to northern washington.

now, this area is a critical habitat for leatherback sea turtles. the government was suppose to establish a final rule to label it a safe zone but so far failed to do so. ahead, people are still talking about the incredible sharks playoff win last night. and the latest rumors about a new apple iphone.

looking at wall street, strong profits and outlooks

from tech and manufacturing companies delivering the biggest lift to sentiment since quarterly earnings reports began a week ago. intel is up over 6.5%. oil also up to $111 a barrel and gold just a fraction below $1,500 an ounce. the dow currently up 183, nasdaq up 51, s&p up 16. the apple rumor mill is swirling about the launch of the iphone 5. reuters is reporting apple will introduce the upgraded smartphone this september. a news agency source did not say whether it would be available at both at&t and verizon but is expected to have a new, sleek design, home screen customization and faster processing and the new wave and pay technology called i wallet for shoppers. if you commute on sam trans, you may notice new fare boxes. they will begin text testing the new system on five buses

today. the new fare boxes are said to be state-of-the-art model that accept cash, coins, and paper tickets. it will be installed on the entire fleet of more than 300 buses by june 1. the san jose sharks are celebrating one of the biggest comebacks ever in the nhl playoffs and happened last night in los angeles. >> pass! score! >> the sharks came back from a 4-0 second-period deficit to beat the kings 6-5 in overtime. sharks now lead the best of seven series 2-1. they will play in l.a. tomorrow night. game five is at the shark tank on saturday. and some amazing time lapse video of the milky way is available on youtube. it was recorded by a norwegian photographer from spain's highest mountain earlier this month. around 32 seconds into the video, a sandstorm kicks up and partially blocks the sky. the photographer thought it would ruin the video but said you can see the milky way shining through.

it looks like sparkling, golden clouds. coming up on ktu vurkz up at 5:00 -- ktvu at 5:00, fighting sexual exploitation of children. how children are at risk and what is being done to help them. plus president obama will land at sfo in 30 minutes. ktvu will have the arrival live. more coming up shortly on ktvu channel 2. thank you for watching. have a good day.